Home > Trip Reports > Mt. Daniel, July 22, 2012

Mt. Daniel, July 22, 2012

7/15/12
WA Cascades West Slopes Central
4374
5
Posted by mikerolfs on 7/22/12 10:44am
I loved reading Big Steve's account of his creative Mt. Daniel circuit,
http://www.turns-all-year.com/skiing_snowboarding/trip_reports/index.php?topic=25313.0
and while I didn't follow his ambitious route, I was inspired by his TR to ski the easy side of Mt. Daniel this weekend.

Here is the timeline;

3:45 AM left the house (Wenatchee area)
4:05 AM learned that the Wenatchee Safeway is no longer a 24 hour store*
5:30 AM started cursing the potholes on Forest Road 4330
7:00 AM finished cursing the potholes on Forest Road 4330
9:00 AM Peggy's Pond
11:00 AM East Peak summit
11:30 Done skiing
1:30 Car - and all the cursing with the potholes again
4:30 PM Home.

It was roughly 6 hours driving and 6-1/2 hours on the trail.

The coverage is prime!  Sneakers to Peggy's Pond and skins from there (except I booted the steep parts - with crampons).  I went up looker's right side of the cliff band above Hyass Glacier and continued up snow all the way to 20' below the summit of the East Peak.  I didn't continue on to the middle and West Peaks, but if you wanted to from here you could scramble down south to intercept the normal traverse route.  Skiing from the East Peak to below Peggy's Pond is continuous and mostly good surface conditions.  Soup bowl sized sun cups with some runnels.  The sun cups were just about right for footsteps on the up, but I have to admit that I got taken down once by a suncup to runnel one-two sucker punch.



East summit in the middle with my ski route passing below the spire on the right and then left around the cliff band

The normal uphill route passes below a steeper chute just beyond Peggy's Pond.  That chute is currently filled in and skiable.  Sun cups made it less than perfect, but it was fun to ski a section I've looked at and wondered about.

The traverse around Cathedral Rock is mostly dry with three or four steep snow crossings that I should have gotten out my axe for, but didn't.  On the traverse I met ski_photmatt and two of his friends.  The skiing was good, but not quite good enough that I wanted to join them for another run.  I hope Matt does a report.  I'd like to see where his group skied.

I was by myself, so no ski video.  But I did make up a song on the hike up and yes, I sang it to the camera, so here is the only video from the day...  https://vimeo.com/46200252

Finally... the potholes.  The road is awful.  I remarked on it's condition last year on my ski trip with Dan (which was super fun - he moved to Spokane, so no more ski trips with Dan.  I miss him).  Also, I notice that other people also mention the road in their reports.   When the road is this bad, (and the picture is crappy because I was being bounced about in the seat of my truck)


requiring "pay to park" is somewhat of an ethical question mark.   My trip out was quicker because I employed the "skim over them" method, but either way, slow or fast, that road is terrible.




*as early as it was, in my partially awake state, it didn't occur to me that poking my finger between the outer doors at Safeway could be considered "braking in".  The irritated guy inside the store said "Can I help you with something" to which I replied, "No, I'm headed to the bakery section" and then he explained that they were closed.  Is this the twilight zone?  Safeway doesn't close.  "You pryed open the doors, didn't you?" he said.  Man, that was embarrassing.  Because pretty much he was right.
We had a similar experience with the potholes and the creek crossing a few weeks ago.

There's a subaru in there:

Hey Mike,

Good to meet you yesterday!  Classic Cascadian weather and terrain plus some soft summer snow made for an enjoyable day.  By the time we got close to the east peak the marine layer had billowed up enough to engulf us and rather then continue on to the main peak in the alternating white out/sun we skied down.  We were hoping to take a run on the Daniel or Lynch glacier but the weather dictated otherwise.

Mike thanks for the report, I came home on Saturday, and had a fair amount of work around the place to catch up on.  But I was contemplating my next ski, and thinking Daniels was a good possibility,  (Big Steve's TR helped). 

I think that marching song needs work!

I thought of you on the trip, Jamie because one of your trip reports got me out there last year.  One of these times we'll have to ski Daniel together.  Should be good for a while.  I promise, no more singing.

Your song rocks man...don't let anybody tell you different. I often mutter similar yet less eloquent rhymes while shaking off the concrete, in search of the blissful hiss of corn under my edges.
Berg Heil mein Freund! 

Reply to this TR

10165
mt-daniel-july-22-2012
mikerolfs
2012-07-22 17:44:25